This is Bwog’s Weekly Roundup of how COVID is progressing at the Columbia community.

At Columbia

This week, there were 8553 tests conducted with 27 tests coming back for a 0.32% positivity rate. The positivity rate is slightly up from 0.30% last week. There were 1501 more tests conducted this week compared to last week. 44 people are in isolation, 119 are in quarantine, and 2 are hospitalized. This week’s positivity rate is slightly lower than the cumulative positivity rate (0.40%).

Of the 6943 tests conducted at the Morningside, Manhattanville, and Lamont-Doherty campuses, 0.28% of students are positive, 0.49% of faculty and staff are positive, and 0.67% of other affiliates are positive. Of the 1610 tests done at the CUIMC campus, 0% of students are positive and 0.52% of faculty and staff are positive.

Since June 22, 2020, Columbia has conducted 183,592 tests with 731 being positive for a 0.40% positivity rate

At Barnard

This week, there were 2592 tests conducted with 6 tests coming back positive for a 0.23% positivity rate. The positivity rate is up from 0.18% last week. There were 638 more tests conducted this week compared to last week. 14 people are in isolation and 19 are in quarantine.

Since August 8th, 2020, Barnard has conducted 35,989 tests with 83 being positive for a 0.23% positivity rate.

In NYC

The FDA has approved the Johnson & Johnson/ Janssen vaccine! Healthcare workers, people 65 and older, and essential and at-risk New Yorkers are now eligible to receive the vaccine. Starting Wednesday, residents age 60 and older, as well as teachers, can be vaccinated at non-pharmacy locations. From March 17th, “public-facing government and nonprofit workers and public-facing essential building workers” will become eligible. In New York State, 4,576,614 residents (22.9% of the population) have received one dose of the vaccine, and 2,375,411 residents (11.8% of the population) are fully vaccinated. In New York City, 2,076,149 residents received one dose and 1,037,119 are fully vaccinated. President Joe Biden has promised vaccines for all US adults by the end of May, which is two months earlier than initially expected.

New York City is continuing to open up. Starting April 1, Governor Cuomo has announced that the required quarantine period for out of state travelers will be dropped. Indoor dining capacity will increase again this week on Friday, March 19th, to 50%, after having been increased to 35% on February 26th. Restaurants and bars still have to close all seated dining from 11 PM to 5 AM daily, with takeout still being available after. Theaters are limited to 25% capacity or no more than 50 people per screen and assigned seating will be required, which brings NYC theaters to be in live with New York state theaters. Billiard halls are restricted to 35% capacity in the city. Entertainment venues at a capped capacity will reopen on April 2nd. Masks are required in all venues unless eating or drinking. On March 22nd, 488 public NYC high schools will reopen, however, according to the New York Times, only around a third of all city students will be attending in person classes, while the other 700,000 will continue remotely. As of Friday, November 13th, private indoor gatherings of 10+ people are not allowed, with indoor maximum capacity being 100 people. However, from March 22nd, outdoor gatherings at private residences will be capped at 25 people.

Currently New Yorkers are expected to maintain 6 feet of distance, or wear a face covering/ mask when this is not possible, like on public transportation.

Image via Bwog Archives